Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) "apartment" means a part of the property intended for any type of independent use, including one or more rooms or enclosed spaces located on one or more floors or part or parts thereof in a building, intended to be used for residential purposes and with a direct exit to a public street, road or highway or to a common area leading to such street, road or highway; (b) "apartment owner" means the person or persons owning an apartment and undivided interest in the common areas and facilities in the percentage specified and established in the declaration; (c) "apartment number" means the number, letter or combination thereof designating the apartment in the declaration; (d) "association of apartment owners" means all the apartment owners acting as a group in accordance with the bye-laws and the declaration; (e) "building" means a building containing five or more apartments or two or more buildings, each containing two or more apartments, with a total of five or more apartments for all such buildings and comprising a part of the property; (f) "common areas and facilities" unless otherwise provided in the declaration or lawful amendments thereto, means (1) the land on which the building is located; (2) the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls, corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire escapes and entrances and exits of the building; (3) the basements, cellars, yards, gardens, parking area and storage spaces; (4) the premises for the lodging of janitors or persons employed for the management of the property; (5) installation of central services such as power, light, gas, hot and cold water, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and incinerating; (6) the elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and in general all apparatus and installations existing for common use; (7) such community and commercial facilities as may be provided for in the declaration; and (8) all other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance and safety or normally in common use; (g) "common expenses" means— (1) all sums lawfully assessed against the apartment owners by the association of apartment owners; (2) expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the common areas and facilities; (3) expenses agreed upon as common expenses by the association of apartment owners; (4) expenses declared as common expenses by the provisions of this Act, or by the declaration or the bye-laws; (h) "common profits" means the balance of all income, rents, profits and revenues from the common areas and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses; (i) "competent authority" means the Director, Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana and includes a person for the time being appointed by the Haryana Government, by notification, to exercise and perform all or any of the powers and functions of the competent authority under this Act and the rules made thereunder; (j) "declaration" means the instrument by which the property is submitted to the provisions of this Act and includes the amended declaration; (k) "joint family" means an undivided Hindu family and in the case of other persons, a group or unit, the members of which are by custom jointly in possession or residence; (l) "limited common areas and facilities" means those common areas and facilities designated in the declaration and reserved for use of certain apartment or apartments to the exclusion of other apartments; (m) "majority" or "majority of apartment owners" means the apartment owners with 51 per cent or more of the votes in accordance with the percentage assigned in the declaration to the apartments for voting purposes; (n) "person" includes a joint family; (o) "prescribed" means prescribed by the rules made under this Act; (p) "property" means the land, the building, all improvements and structures thereon, owned in free-hold or held on lease or as occupant under any law relating to land revenue and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto and all articles of personal property intended for use in connection therewith which have been or are intended to be submitted to the provisions of this Act.